So, the Change To Win coalition rally came off quite nicely and the coalition also donated $125,000 to the strikers. Check out the photo here.

But, what caught my eye this a.m. is the fact that the strike by more than 18,000 machinists at Boeing has even the business press confused–and critical of the company. Business Week carries a story in its current issue, headlined, “Boeing’s Strike: Go Figure:The shutdown is costing much more than it would to meet the machinists’ demands.” The upshot of the article is that the company blundered by forcing a strike–and people are scratching their heads trying to figure out why.

Here’s a little excerpt (the “he” is CEO Alan Mulally): “Still, what’s puzzling is why he hasn’t yet found a face-saving way to end the standoff. A close reading of management’s offer suggests that it could meet the IAM’s key pension demands for just $90 million more over the three-year life of a new labor contract. Since that comes to less than 1% of the nearly $4 billion the company will spend on the IAM’s total wage-and-benefit expense over that period, it’s difficult to see what Boeing hopes to gain by a lengthy showdown. That’s particularly true in light of analysts’ estimates that Boeing will rack up more than $90 million in costs each month that the walkout drags on.”

When you, then, calculate the specifics, as Business Week does, the differences were minor. So, why the strike?: “Underlying the current standoff are the poor relations Boeing has long had with the IAM. That became clear in last-minute talks between Calhoun and Blondin just before the strike began. The two were deadlocked over yet another relatively minor issue, involving worker training. Blondin recalls asking: “I just don’t understand why you always fight us.” Blondin says Calhoun replied: “You just don’t get it. We represent Corporate America. You represent labor. We are always going to be adversaries.” Boeing says Blondin’s account was taken out of context.”

Business Week’s conclusion: “Whatever the exact figures, the sums causing the impasse are essentially rounding errors for a company that hauls in $54 billion in annual revenues. With any savings to Boeing soon to be eaten up in the strike’s first month, what’s really driving Boeing remains a mystery.”